Stress in Workplace

Introduction

In this essay it is my intention to show how stress appears in working environment, what causes it and how it affects the workplace. I will start by defining what stress is and how it might be perceived. Then I will take a look at the factors that cause stress and how these might show in result when working. I try to look at all the possible reasons for stress and through that hopefully to show how to avoid a stressful environment. I will not try to put straight answers on to paper, but to think why workers might be stressed, and how this affects the organisation instead of just saying that things are like that because they just are.

I chose this topic because I'm studying psychology and I feel that this is the one topic I have most ( qualitatively and quantitatively ) information to put into.

What stress is and how do we recognise it

When I looked up the word 'stress' from the dictionary, the definition it brought back was: 'state of mental, emotional or other strain'. The word ”strain” can be defined as being 'a severe demand on strength or resources'. ( Soanes, C. 2004: 1427, 1424 ) When we now look at these definitions, how do we end up classifying stress as something negative, something problematic? In the book psychology course 1006 uses stress is described as ”a pattern of physiological, behavioural, emotional and cognitive responses to real or imagined stimuli that are perceived as preventing a goal or endangering or otherwise threatening well-being.” ( Carlson et al. 2004: 710 ) Stress is nowadays a very common state of mind. Almost everyone has at some point suffered from stress. But even this is happening, people are able to do their work properly and without problems. ”Hans Selye has said that the only person without stress is a dead person. He sees that stress should be viewed as 'stimulation to growth and development.. chalenge and variety.. the spice of life'. When our own personal ability to meet a demand exceeds our objective ability to cope with that demand, the resulting imbalance is acknowledged as a state f stress. Therefore stress is a subjective experience and is 'in the eye of the beholder'.” ( Croome-Gale 1999: 77 ) This is why in certain situations two people might act differently; we feel stress differently. What causes anxiety in me, might make you more effective. And not all pressure causes stress. When the working environment is constantly changing, it is manditory for us to try and keep up with it, and we need some kind of pressure upon us to be able to do this. ( Croome-Gale 1999: 87 ) Although, if we keep this strain up for an extended period of time, it comes too much for us to maintain, because biological activity causes wear and tear on the body which leads to various forms of illness / diseases, and / or weaknes our resistance to disease. ( Croome-Gale 1999: 79 ) This is when the word 'burnout' comes in handy. It can be defined as an extreme stage of stress, and from now on when I use the word stress, I don't speak of the mild stages, but the more difficult ones, those that don't only make us alert, but also start harming our actions.

What causes stress and how this affects work

Stress is often seen as a result of problems at work or at home, but very rarely it is this straight-forward. Sometimes it might be only one thing in a persons life that causes stress, but in most cases there is no one big thing, but many small factors affecting at the same time. Marital problems, bereavement, etc. often triggure the pressure a person feels at work into stress.

At workplace there are many factors that cause stress, and many of them lead back to management. Often we find ourselves facing changes in our job structure and -environment ( much of which is fuelled by technological development ), and this often adds our worries about our work. This is why in most offices they organise special courses and staff training whenever they change something essential in the physical working environment. It is not unusual that the role structures change, as companies constantly re-invent themselves, trying to keep up with the competition. Change is often stressful because we try to resist it. The impact of the change can cause lack of clarity about the task.( Croome-Gale 1999:81 ) Being under constant change is potentially damaging because energy is expended by constant adaptation to stimulation from the external environment. Thus, change is a powerful stressor because it necessitates adaptation: whether it is a negative or positive experience, welcomed,feared or resisted, this adaptation or adjustment requires energy. ( Croome-Gale 1999: 38 ) But sometimes these changes have to be made, and the organisation is going to face some big problems if some of their employees don't have the capacity of adapt any more, or if they just don't wish to.

It is important that employees feel like they have some control over what they do and how they do it. This counts towards a good self – image and self-appreciation, which stops the employee from reacting to minor obstacles by stressing themselves out. If the workers trust in themselves and are sure of what they do, they do their tasks faster and with less effort, hence increasing productivity.

Communication is an important factor in handling stress. It weakens the employee's ability to work if the managament doesn't take any contact to the workers, or if this contact is merely to tell what they've done wrong. When both of the sides don't know what's going on on the other side, it is easy to make decisions that work towards even worse relationships( Routamaa 2002 ) When everything isn't well between the employees themselves, effectivity suffers for the workplace is more of a place of conflict and dissatisfaction, and people have to face these problems again daily. Lack of productivity shows up in many ways, such as absenteeism, arriving late and leaving early, over-long lunch breaks, careless mistakes, overwork, boredom, frustration with the management and the environment. ( Croome-Gale 1999: 38 )

It is important that the employee and the work that they do are on the same line. If an employee is put into too much / too little responsibility, it affects their motivation at work. Some people might not be ready for the responsibilities that are given to them, and this adds the pressure they already might be feeling. On the other hand, someone might feel like